The field of the disclosure relates generally to communication networks, and more particularly, to communication interfaces for access networks capable of transporting signals according to one or more network protocols.
Most network operators have very limited fiber available between the headend (HE)/hub and the fiber node to use for data and video services, often only just 1-2 fiber strands. With end users demanding more bandwidth to the home, operators need a strategy on how to increase capacity in the access network. One way is to add more fiber between the HE/hub and the fiber node, but retrenching is costly and time consuming, so return on investment (RoI) makes this option unattractive; a solution that re-uses the existing infrastructure would be preferred. The best use of the existing infrastructure to meet the bandwidth demand while avoiding the retrenching costs is to use point-to-point (P2P) coherent optics along with wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) in the access network.
Coherent optics technology is becoming common in the subsea, long-haul, and metro networks, but has not yet been applied to access networks. However, it is desirable to utilize coherent optics technology in the access network because the distances from the HE/hub to the fiber node are much shorter in coherent optics networks in comparison with other types of networks. It is therefore desirable to provide coherent optics systems and methods for the access network realize a larger margin for adding more compact wavelengths, due to the signal-to-noise (SNR) improvements in that would result. By adapting coherent optics technology to the access network, some of the modules used in other networks, to conduct distortion compensation, nonlinear compensation, and error correction, may be eliminated, simplified, and/or implemented using components with relaxed requirements, thereby resulting in significant cost savings for a P2P coherent optic link implementation.